The much awaited final day took place on the 6th of October. With the Third and Second playing in the 3rd place playoff, the Fourth and Fifth years locked horns for the finale. Around 21:20 hrs, the first game of the night kicked-off.
Four minutes into kickoff, Nityanshu scored for the Third years. With everything going their way and with the Second years missing Karnalius in their defense, the Third years started to find the next opportunity to seal the game. However, the Second years had other things in mind. Becoming the first girl to score this tournament, Rani Unnamalai from the Second years challenged the crumbling defense.
With the game at one-all, skipper Aditya put his team into the lead with two goals before getting injured a few minutes before the half time whistle. With his team trailing 1-3, Karnalius put in a brave effort and played the second half and boosted the team’s morale.
Things took a turn when Rani scored again, just for it to be disallowed as an offside. However, after Jonathan scored a goal, Aditya scored twice, once in each net, making the score 4-2. With Karnalius finally scoring for his team, the Third years were dominating once again, leading 4-3. Sealing the game, skipper Aditya scored a simple goal that made the final score 5-3 for the Third years.
Final Score: Third Years beat Second Years 5-3 and win the 3rd place playoff
The final stage was set for the Fourth and Fifth years to play. Refereeing the game was Sreehari and Nityanshu who had faced-off just minutes ago. With both teams playing aggressively, AvieNaash broke the deadlock and put Fifth Years ahead in the first half.
Being tipped – much before the tournament – as favorites, the Fourth years’ team felt a large hole in their team in the form of an injured SiddharthNatraj. However, Thulunga kept threatening with his dribble skills and an in-form Rimil finally scored a brilliant goal that went past Varun Murthy to tie the first half 1-1.
With Siddharth being added into the game later, the team’s defense seemed to recover. While AvieNaash, Mahesh and Ravi Krishnan tried their best in breaking the wall – or the bus – that never failed, Ankitha Aravindan never gave up till the end and breached the opponent’s hull multiple times just to lose possession.
After a point, it was clear. The Fourth Years were looking to head the game into their favorite part – the penalties. After multiple possession shifts in the last few minutes of the game, the game headed to the penalties. Keeping for the Fourth and Fifth year teams were Sannihit Krishna and Varun Murthy, respectively. The penalty shootout went as follows:
Result: Fourth years tied with Fifth years 1-1 and win on penalties 3-2
– Hathim
Article 19 